Suicide football boss had attempted to kill himself before: Tragedy of father mired in cricket-fixing scandal

The football club chairman embroiled in the Pakistan cricket match-fixing scandal who killed himself had made a previous suicide attempt, it has emerged.

David Le Cluse, 44, was in despair at claims that Croydon Athletic was being used to launder money.

The body of the father of two, who took his life with a rifle, was found by his wife.

His club co-owner Mazhar Majeed is on police bail over claims in a Sunday newspaper that he took £150,000 to get Pakistani cricketers to bowl no-balls against England in a Test match.

Personal friendship: Mr Le Cluse, right, with Croydon Athletic co-owner Mazher Majeed. Mr Le Cluse took his own life with a rifle

Croydon Athletic was dragged into the furore because Majeed claimed in the course of the News of the World sting that he bought the club only to launder money through it.

Yesterday Mr Le Cluse's wife was too distraught to speak about
his death, which came just a day ahead of his elder daughter Amelia's
ninth birthday.

Although he left no suicide note, a family member said the
chairman had despaired after his club was thrown into chaos by the
match-fixing allegations in August.

Sources also claimed Mr Le Cluse had lost up to £50,000 from deals with Majeed that fell through as a result of the affair.

But the relative stressed yesterday that he was not involved in any corruption.

'We were not aware that he had lost any money from the football
club,' he added. 'But it was plain to see that the scandal had really
brought him down.

'Staff had left the club and it was through no fault of his
own. He took it really personally and saw it as his failure. He didn't
lose any money - he was just really depressed about the failure of the
football club.

'That wasn't down to him and it only came when the cricket scandal broke.

'He took it very personally and was very upset as it reflected badly upon him.'

Croydon's assets have been frozen since August while HM Revenue and
Customs officers examine its books as part of the investigation into
Majeed's affairs.

The club is also being investigated by the Football Association for alleged financial irregularities.

In September the club's management, including manager Tim
O'Shea, quit because they had not been paid and all but one of the
players moved to other clubs. Mr O'Shea said. 'He [Mr Le Cluse] was
very upset at the allegations and the club getting involved.

'It probably hit him harder than most because of his personal friendship with Majeed.

'He wanted nothing more than for the club to succeed and he was probably upset and affected by it more than anybody else.'

Mr Le Cluse, who runs a pest control business, was appointed by
Majeed to run the club last November even though he had no experience
of such a role.

The pair met when Mr Le Cluse was called in to exterminate vermin at Majeed's property.

Two weeks ago, the club was rescued from liquidation after
Majeed provided a £10,000 bond to the Ryman League to underwrite costs
for the rest of the season.

He is trying to sell the club but two prospective buyers have already pulled out.

Yesterday a spokesman for Majeed, who is on bail on suspicion of
conspiracy to defraud bookmakers, said Mr Le Cluse had no money
invested in the club. He said: 'It's really unfair as he had nothing to
do with the cricket scandal.'

The club has issued this statement: 'Croydon Athletic are
deeply shocked and saddened by the sudden tragic death of their
chairman, David LeCluse, on Saturday, October 2.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with David's wife and children,
and we would ask everyone to respect their privacy at this devastating
time for them.'

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said a rifle had been
recovered from Mr Le Cluse's lock-up garage in Sutton, South-West
London, where he was found dead - two miles from his home in
Carshalton.

The pest exterminator had a licence to use the .22 small bore
rifle as part of his work for his family firm Merlin Pest Control,
which is based in Beckenham, South-East London.

The fixing allegations saw three Pakistan cricket players axed from the remainder of the team's tour.